July 6 - Tell Them

Overview of: Mark

Today's Reading:
Mark 5:1 – 6:56
"Power and Provision"

Focus Verses: Mark 5:17-20
17 Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region. 18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

Insight:
The man Jesus healed was an outcast from society. His condition had driven him away from family and friends and left to fend for himself among graves and near pig herds. It's completely understandable that he would want to leave his past behind and go with Jesus. The prospect of a new start in a new place must have seemed more desirable than going back to broken relationships and a shattered reputation. Yet Jesus told him to go home to his family and friends, and to show and tell them how much God, in his mercy, had done for him.

What a shock and wonder it must have been to family and old friends to see him healed and restored to his right mind. How much more healing and renewal did the man experience as a result of going home? What a powerful testimony of Christ's power it must have been to all who heard his testimony.

Response and Action:
I must look to Christ for the healing and renewal I need. Following Jesus is not a withdrawal from my world, but rather an engaging testimony to it. I must tell my family and friends about how God's mercy is restoring my life and what God is doing for me. My changed life is a message of God's saving power.

O God, by the power and grace of Christ Jesus, make me new. Forgive my sins, heal the wounds of my failure, take away the guilt of my transgressions, strengthen me in my weakness, free me from my bondage to sin, and restore my life. Give me the courage to be honest about my problems and needs, and help me give witness to the ways you are helping me to overcome them. Through Christ, I pray. Amen.

Old Testament for Today: Psalm 103:2-5
2 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits- 3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
In Context: Psalm 103

Proverb for Today: Prov. 6:23
"For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life..."

Recommended Reading:
Miracles
by C. S. Lewis